Florida Challenges ATF’s Infringement on Gun Rights
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — On Monday, Attorney General Ashley Moody released a legal opinion regarding the use of stabilizing braces for handguns in Florida. The opinion comes alongside a legal challenge to a recent interpretation of federal law by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“CAPRICIOUS POWER FLEX”
In 2012, Alex Bosco invented the pistol brace to help a disabled veteran shoot an AR-15 more accurately. He later formed a company, SB Tactical, that partnered with SIG Sauer to market them. The accessory device attaches to the back of a gun and straps to the forearm, anchoring and lengthening the weapon and allowing the user to shoot one-handed more easily.
In May, the ATF began enforcing sweeping restrictions on pistols fitted with stabilizing braces. Under the new rule, braced pistols are now considered short-barreled rifles, meaning gun owners have to register their pistols under the National Firearms Act, destroy their braced weapons or pistol braces – or face a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The move sparked a multi-state federal lawsuit with plaintiffs calling the rule an arbitrary and capricious power flex by the ATF that raises “grave constitutional doubts under the Second Amendment.”
This ‘rule set’ pushed down by the ATF has so many different implications for gunownership. To name one, registering your pistol brace sets you up for search and seizure of a non-registered SBR. This is the goal, to catch the average gun owner with their pants down
— NWODestroyer (@DestroyerNwo) January 27, 2023
Yesterday, a federal court in North Texas granted a preliminary injunction against the ATF in a separate case, siding with a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel that ruled the ATF broke the law by requiring the destruction or registration of guns with pistol braces.
🚨 FPC WINS 🚨
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) October 3, 2023
In our Mock v. Garland ATF Pistol Brace Rule Lawsuit, the District Court has issued a Preliminary Injunction that is identical to the emergency injunction issued by the Fifth Circuit. pic.twitter.com/kWqky5QGFM
FLORIDA’S STANCE
Attorney General Moody’s legal opinion concludes that under Florida law, stabilizing braces are not short-barreled rifles:
“Unless and until judicially or legislatively clarified, I conclude that the definition of ‘short-barreled rifle,’ which the Legislature enacted in 1969, does not include a handgun, such as a pistol, to which a person attaches a stabilizing brace, because the use of such an optional accessory does not change the fundamental characteristics of the handgun.”
The opinion came In response to a request from Rep. Shane Abbott (R-DeFuniak Springs) following the ATF interpretation in which Abbott says 99 percent of pistols equipped with stabilizing braces will now be deemed subject to National Firearms Act controls.
“The Second Amendment is alive and well in Florida and our state laws protect the gun rights of law-abiding citizens,” said Attorney General Ashley Moody. “We issued this important legal opinion to provide clarity about our state law as the federal government continues to overreach in an effort to over-regulate certain firearm accessories.”
Read the full opinion here.